Shrader Steps Down From Planning Board

Sat., Dec. 16, 2000

Lorie Hutson Trinity Hartman Contribu Staff writer

After five years and thousands of hours building the new land-use plan for Spokane County, planning commissioner Mike Schrader is stepping down.

Schrader said farewell to the other volunteers on the board this week. Pat Humphries, the retiring Spokane Valley Fire District fire chief, will take his place.

“The most important thing it’s taught me is how to work with other people to reach a consensus,” Schrader said.

The planning commission spent long hours in meetings and public hearings over the past three years crafting a comprehensive plan for Spokane County required by the state’s Growth Management Act.

Schrader said the often contentious discussions and difficult role of balancing competing interests showed him the importance of “reaching out to people you might not necessarily agree with.”

The board recently passed its recommendation for the plan to Spokane County commissioners, who will hold another round of public hearings before it is finally adopted early next year.

Schrader took a slot on the planning commission at the urging of his neighbors in Liberty Lake. He had served on a similar board in Butte County, Calif.

He said he’s willing to offer any advice he can to Liberty Lake residents as they begin to shape their comprehensive plan for the new city. He urged city officials to take things slowly and work with their neighbors around the lake to pre-zone the neighborhoods before a vote on annexation.

Residents are concerned the area could be zoned for dense development and threaten the water quality of the lake.

But Schrader won’t be around long. He said he plans to sell his house in Liberty Lake and his share in the insurance company he co-owns in the next 3 to 6 months. He calls it retirement, but plans to keep himself busy with an Internet business he’s starting in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, south of Cancun.

“My future is in a warmer climate,” he said.

Humphries replaces Schrader immediately and although he’s coming in on “the tail end” of things, he hopes to play a role in decisions on how to implement the comprehensive plan.

There “has to be a balance between development and natural resources,” Humphries said.

“I’m going to try to bring a business perspective (to the planning commission.) My concern is that the county sometimes doesn’t understand the need to get more family-wage jobs in this county,” said Humphries.

Humphries will be retiring from Valley Fire on Feb. 1, 2001. His term on the Valley Fire board ends in February of 2003.

Staff writer Trinity Hartman contributed to this story.

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